24. Marc Lasry

2013 Earnings: $280 millionThe onetime bankruptcy lawyer—Lasry’s brief legal career included a clerkship for a bankruptcy judge in New York–turned to investing 30 years ago, specializing in distressed assets. Lasry founded Avenue Capital in 1995 with his sister, Sonia Gardner, with about $10 million in cash. The firm currently manages $12.8 billion in assets. A major donor to Barack Obama and other Democrats, Lasry almost left his hedge fund firm, but eventually turned down a chance to become the U.S. Ambassador to France in 2013. Lasry is a major donor to Barack Obama and other Democrats.